NEWS

2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney to tout Ernst in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Mitt Romney is returning to Iowa for the first time since the 2012 presidential election, this time to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst.

In a press release Thursday, Ernst's campaign says the former Massachusetts governor will campaign May 30 with the southwestern Iowa state senator. They will visit Cedar Rapids and Davenport, eastern Iowa's largest media markets.

Polls indicate Ernst leads a five-way race for the Republican nomination as the June 3 primary election nears.

Ernst has been endorsed by a range of groups and individuals, from the tea party-backed Senate Conservatives Fund to the pro-establishment U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Ernst supported Romney in the 2012 caucuses. Romney finished second in the leadoff presidential voting in Iowa but lost the state in November to Democratic President Barack Obama.